The grand opening of a new Vermeer and Bobcat dealership in Buda, Texas, in many ways reflects a synergy that is a growing trend in the construction industry. The two lines of equipment blend in a complementary fashion within the 12,500-square-foot sales, rental, and service facility.
It is the 14th location for the Vermeer Texas-Louisiana dealership in Texas and south Louisiana and the 17th Lone Star State Bobcat shop for Compact Construction Equipment, LLC (CCE), which distributes the brand in Texas. It is the fifth shared facility for the two divisions of Irving, Texas-based Equipment One Company (EOC). The Buda dealership reflects the company’s motto of “Two Brands. One Team.”
The rapidly growing suburb of Buda — just south of Austin, Texas, as well as the northern end of a burgeoning metroplex arising between the capital city and San Antonio, Texas — is a natural choice of locale for Bobcat and Vermeer.
“We welcome them,” said Jim Collins, Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Buda Chamber of Commerce. “It’s another business that shows how Buda is booming.”
The site on the southbound I-35 service road gives the facility high visibility and easy access in a corridor where commercial and residential construction abounds.
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“Buda made a lot of sense to us,” said Brian Harris, Chief Operating Officer - Southern Region of Equipment One Company, the holding company that owns and operates the Vermeer Texas-Louisiana and Compact Construction Equipment brands. “We already had a Vermeer location in Round Rock on the north side of Austin. Then we opened a Bobcat dealership directly adjacent to it.”
“As we saw Austin continue to grow, it became more and more difficult for the customers on the south side of Austin to get there,” he added. “We knew that Buda would be a great location in order to take care of our customers.”
The facility opened earlier this year, but waited a few months through a shakedown cruise before having its official grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on a sunny fall day. Its workers, customers, and other guests had lunch from a food truck for the popular South Austin eatery, Wholly Cow Burgers. The company also held similar events at its existing stores in Waco, Lubbock, and Corpus Christi, Texas, to celebrate its commitment to the Lone Star State.
Customers enter the Buda facility to a Bobcat counter and staff on one side of the lobby and Vermeer on the other. There is a complimentary blend to the two brands in one facility. Both sell a variety of equipment for use in commercial and residential construction as well as landscaping and agriculture. A variety of loaders to meet most needs can be filled by one line or the other. Bobcat has loaders, excavators, tractors, and a number of attachments for them, as well as a wide range of mowers for commercial and consumer uses. Vermeer offers underground utility installation, tree care, landscaping, forestry equipment, trenchers, and more.
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Both companies offer a “Total Package Promise” of comprehensive customer service backing up the equipment they sell. They sell and rent equipment and parts both new and pre-owned, offer training on use and safety, provide loaners to use while warranty machines are being repaired in specific situations, and a host of other support services to ensure users’ equipment will be ready to do the job when needed. The dealership’s high-ceiling shop area has two overhead cranes to help facilitate quick repairs and parts replacements.
“We're building our footprints in order to serve our customers,” said Jeff Christianson, Corporate Parts Manager for Vermeer Texas-Louisiana. Both Vermeer and Bobcat have locations on I-35 in the northern reaches of the San Antonio area. “If you go west of here, we're in Marble Falls [Bobcat] and Kerrville. And then if you start going south, we have locations in Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley, and Victoria.”
“Texas is a really good place to be right now,” Harris said. And thanks to EOC’s dealerships for the two brands, Vermeer and Bobcat equipment can be seen working throughout the state.
